MMORPG Pioneer Brad McQuaid Dies

McQuaid pioneered the MMORPG gaming format for the personal computer with the popular Everquest masssively multiplayer online role-playing game, published in 1996. Although not the first MMORPG (I think Ultima Online came out before Everquest), EQ quickly became the most popular. McQuaid’s company, Verant Interactive, was then acquired by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE). McQuaid was instrumental in creating a sequel, Everquest II, for SOE, utilizing more advanced graphics. Both games still have their rabidly-loyal player bases over a decade later, in spite of later games, such as World of Warcraft, that used simpler gaming and graphics (able to be played on less-powerful computers) to attract a much bigger audience–and also in spite of console games played on dedicated equipment such as XBox and PS4.

McQuaid went on to develop the excellent but ill-starred MMORPG Vanguard. He was working on the crowd-sourced Pantheon, Rise of the Fallen, at the time of his death.